Top Cuvee in Islington

Ridiculously bad. I have lived nearby for a while and was very much looking forward to going and did just that tonight... Oh my. Pretentious environment for pretentious, badly cooked, overpriced food. Who can't cook potatoes, FFS. 12 quid for 3 slices of tomato in yoghurt, FFS. Go to one of the Turkish places on Green Lanes instead. Half the price, twice the humanity, and actually tastes good. P.s. the wine was awful too.

Awful food and the wines isn’t that good, overpriced- can’t cook potatoes and take themselves too seriously. Go somewhere else.

Terrible service. Front of house aggressive and hostile. They have serious anger management issues here. Avoid.

Walked in for a casual drink, fair enough was peak time on a friday evening but thought we would try. We received filthy looks for 5 minutes from every member of staff. No one approached until a blonde woman behind the bar said "have you got a reservation we are fully booked". Downright rude. We asked if we could sit on the bench outside and just have a glass (the bench was empty). She replied saying "the till is full" and walked away. Beyond pretentious. Where is the hospitality? P.S if you are thinking of eating here they have consistently had a 1-2* food hygiene rating - consistently falling short on cleanliness and I suspect pests. Thankfully another review pointed this out. Won't be attempting to return, ew.

Went to Top Cuvee for an impromptu dinner, as there was availability on their website. Once we got to the restaurant we were seated at the counter, in front of a drinks tap. There was just enough space to fit two small plates. Not a good start. The food was subpar and overpriced. The fact that they haven’t asked how we wanted our £26 steak to be cooked should have been a red flag. As a matter of fact, half tasted like cardboard. We would have thought it was somehow to be expected, given that it’s a glorified wine bar, but then could not explain why they only had 5-6 wines by the glass! To complete the disastrous experience, one of the waiters sprayed on us a conspicuous amount of a drink they were getting from the tap in front of us, and didn’t even care to swap our soaked plates / cutlery for the next course. Classic hipster scam.

Popped in here when we realised that the nearby Italian restaurant we had planned to go to was closed for the Summer. We have been here before a couple of times before on weekend evenings and it has been a little hectic with a lot of too cool for schoolers. They should push their weekend daytime menu as the area is a little bereft of decent lunch options, particularly when you rule out the usual eggs for brunch brigade. Service was friendly and laid back (a good laugh at my request for the most non-natural natural wine on the menu - chilled (literally, not metaphorically) house red was very nice. Charcuterie was tasty (cured pork shoulder if I remember correctly) as was a main course of cod and chorizo. There was another starter as well, but I can’t remember it three days later so apparently wasn’t memorable. Cheese (Comte) was good. The menu on the whole is pretty short for lunch, maybe 5 starters, three mains so check it out before you commit. Overall, I really like this place - I just need to make a mental note that it’s open for lunch at the weekend. Good for Zoomers accompanied by their more affluent Boomer parents (which seemed to be the crowd - just to be clear, I’m gen X). Highly recommended.

Very very nice dinner. We went there for my birthday and they made everything they could to accommodate us (15ppl) the best they could. The food from the set menu was amazing and the wine as well. People with dietary requirements were taken care of without being served boring food. The vibe is very nice and the staff absolutely amazing. One of the best restaurants I have done in London so far.

Great food and natural wine - we were served by Flora and Daria who knew the wine list and their recommendations inside out and couldn't have been more lovely and fun all evening! We tried a few wines by the glass that they recommended based on what we had described and loved every one of them. Will definitely be heading back to try some more in the New Year.

First time at Top Cuve even though it is just round the corner. Informal family celebration for three of us and was a real treat. Great plates to share all the way through to cheese and a fantastic chocolate mousse. Knowledgeable and friendly staff. And an accessible organic wine list. Unsurprisingly full and nicely buzzing

Such a fun night. I knew the wines would be great, having frequented the shop during lockdowns, but had low/no expectation for the food. Ended up doing the “whole menu” option with some substitutions and it was amazing value for money and the food was SO good. The staff were friendly as well as helpful and knowledgeable, and flexible with menu change requests. I cannot disagree more with the few reviews calling it pretentious. Can’t wait to show off this neighborhood gem to more friends.

So, the food was tasty and the atmosphere good. And, although we discovered an elastic band in the remoulade, we didn’t make a big fuss, and they took two of the tapas plates off the bill. However, there seems to be a big problem with this place in the kitchen. We usually check out the hygiene rating before we book, but this was a birthday dinner and we simply forgot. Anyway, it seems that this place - Top Cuvée on Blackstock Road - has the hygiene rating of 1 (!!!) which means major improvements necessary. For context, 2 is already a fail. So, to get 1, the situation needs to be really bad. Why are such places allowed to remain open? They are obviously a hazard. Of course, I’m happy to remove this review if the Food Standards Agency’s app made a mistake.

Food was extremely poor quality and ridiculously expensive. No beef croquettes. Instead offered ham. Obviously we thought these would be ham croquettes, but no. Just four slices of ham that you could buy in a supermarket. Charged at the same price as the croquettes too. Ridiculous. Mackerel was rubber and done in two bites. The beef was £24 and again, done in two bites. These guys are robbing customers blind and you will leave hungry. Avoid.

We stopped here for a couple of hours for pre-dinner drinks. The wine selection was decent and we tried a few different ones. The food menu looked interesting and we may return to try that another time, despite the negative reviews I have read on here

Abbiamo avuto l'occasione di assaporare la cucina di questo ristorante, la cortesia e la gentilezza del personale è indiscutibile, chef e staff eccellenti. Consiglio vivamente di passare se si è a Londra. Sicuramente ritorneremo.

My partner and I came in for lunch while we were dogsitting in the neighborhood, and we were rather pleased with our experience. We were able to bring in the dog, which was fantastic, and the entire staff was lovely. They've put together a lovely wine list, largely French, and you can take home any of the bottles for 30% off the drink-in price. We had a few smaller plates to share (the terrine was excellent!), and drank an orange wine that wasn't on the menu but happened to be open. Would absolutely return for more.

We visited on a busy Saturday night and were really impressed. The service was very warm and friendly as well as being efficient. My mum is Coeliac and the team were very quickly able to identify which dishes wouldn't be suitable (although in fact most of them were if they were served without the accompanying bread etc). We really enjoyed the plates we had and would definitely recommend a visit!

This place gives London a bad name. Over priced uninspiring paltry random dishes with fancy titles. Go elsewhere. London has much better to offer

Absolutely wonderfully flavoured dishes, amazing wine list and brilliant service!!! Lovely lively atmosphere, even on a Sunday evening!

I live locally and I’ve been here a few times now. The food is really extraordinarily good, I’ve enjoyed every plate that I have had. All the dishes are interestingly composed and beautifully put together. Last time I had the courgettes with ricotta, burrata with...

We’ve been here a couple times now and have to say I think it’s great. Excellent little tapas bites and superb wine selection. What’s not to like? Yes it’s quite pricey, but, it’s a high end wine bar that serves tapas in Highbury....

Not bad for a local restaurant. The staff are extraordinary helpful. I liked the tartare. The wine selection is very good.

Went with high expectations, but had a very similar experience to other reviewers. The quality of the food is not high enough to demand the prices they charge. After ordering the bread, and receiving one slice we realised that we would be leaving hungry.

Top cuvee is a great addition to the area. The food is very good, as are the cocktails. Judging by the young crowd when we last went, this is clearly a destination restaurant as well as a fantastic local place. The service is friendly and...

We went this evening and it looked promising. The menu was small but interesting. The staff were very friendly. The atmosphere was lovely. But unfortunately the prices were just too expensive for the quality of food, and the service was poor - we waited a...

This was nice food. But we paid £15 for three asparagus that’s £3 per asparagus which in my opinion is too much. Furthermore, the food took so long to come as it was small plates and left you feeling very dissatisfied. Maybe if you go,...

My son lives nearby and had encouraged us to visit Top Cuvee for an evening meal. The restaurant is recently opened and has a nice space and friendly and welcoming staff. We ordered a variety of dishes to share and in terms of flavor everything...